Why experts think China launched the cyberattacks against GitHub

Github, a popular site where coders store and collaborate on software projects, was hit on Thursday and again on Sunday with cyberattacks that researchers believe originated from China.

The attack began when an individual or group hacked software used by Baidu, Chinas largest search engine.

James A. Lewis told The Washington Post that the most likely candidate is the Chinese government itself. The attack could be a way for the government to make a show of force, or to target specific tools it dislikes.

GitHub is widely used by individual programmers and software companies alike to collaborate on projects, and is all but indispensable to the technology industry. Because the site is encrypted, governments can’t block access to some parts of GitHub while leaving others accessible.